America's Last F1 Team Principal Has Advice for America's Newest

Bobby Rahal is uniquely positioned to offer advice to Zak Brown. As the last American-born Formula 1 team principal, the 1986 Indy 500 winner and three-time IndyCar champion had a less than pleasant time overseeing Jaguar's F1 program in 2001, and while his tenure atop the team only lasted nine months, the experience gave the Ohioan a solid understanding of how the world of grand prix racing differs from anything in North America.

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Brown is expected to find a less hostile environment at McLaren F1, and with his vast experience working with international sponsors and partners involved in the series, the Californian should step into his new leadership role with greater ease than Rahal encountered.

If there's such a thing as an informal passing of the baton from one American F1 executive to the next, Rahal believes Brown will rise to the challenge once he assumes control of McLaren F1.

"Zak and I are friends and we have had dinners over a nice bottle of wine talking about the whole Formula 1 experience," the father of IndyCar star Graham Rahal told RoadandTrack.com. "He's been involved in F1 in a lot of ways and it's particularly on the sponsorship side that I think he has a pretty good feel for what he is getting into. It is great for him; the guy can deliver the goods.

"And to be able to say you are running McLaren, wow, that is like being given the keys to the New York Yankees. It's a great heritage, and what a thrill for him, I am sure. It is a thrill for me just knowing him and knowing what he is doing. But I think he has a pretty good understanding of what is ahead of him."

Graham Rahal with Zak Brown (right)

Marshall Pruett

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In replacing Ron Dennis, who transformed McLaren from a midfield team in the late 1970s to a powerhouse through the 2000s, Brown is stepping into the long shadow cast by his predecessor.

Among the positives to consider, where Rahal's nationality and presence as an F1 outsider conspired against his efforts with the Jaguar team, he sees Brown's proven business experience as an overriding factor that can help McLaren—and F1 as a whole—to prosper.

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"Speaking to friends in Europe, even just recently as yesterday, Formula 1 really has some issues and is probably going to be far more open to suggestion about maybe how it should change and the way it does business with someone like Zak than it was when I was there," Rahal said.

"When I was there, we were talking about the lesser-funded teams like Jaguar, or Arrows, or Jordan, doing like the NFL and sharing in the TV money equally. And they all looked at me, especially Ron Dennis, like, 'are you crazy? Are you suggesting that we should get the same amount as Jordan?'

"But I think this time around the situation is different. Formula 1 needs more money, the McLaren team needs a lot more money, and Zak's background on the commercial side is perfect to help. I don't think people will be as closed to new concepts he might bring if it helps everyone from the front to the back of the grid.

"Given the challenges that lie ahead for Formula 1, I think Zak's probably in for a good time. And I know that Zak has a good relationship with [F1 boss] Bernie Ecclestone, and of course that is important. I believe he has a good starting relationship with the Liberty Group that just bought the major share of Formula 1's commercial rights, so he's in a great position with what lies ahead with McLaren."

"big teams had a budget twice as much as we had, which was still $250 million..."

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The rapid growth of McLaren's partnership with Honda has allowed F1 world champions Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso to compete at a higher level in 2016. On-track performances aside, the scarcity of sponsors on the McLaren-Hondas will likely receive Brown's attention before any other areas in need of improvement.

"Zak has generated sponsorship for a lot of teams over the years, even Ferrari," Rahal said. "It is clear, and I don't care what category you are in: money makes the world go round. McLaren is looking to expand the proficiency and the depth of the team, and let's face it, most teams can't equal the budget of Ferrari or Mercedes.

"That has always been a big challenge there, and that's where Zak can probably help right away. When I was there with Jaguar, the big teams had a budget twice as much as we had, which was still $250 million, and you think that is fantastic, but Williams was $450 million. McLaren was about the same. Ferrari was, who knows, maybe the same or more.

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"And of course, in Formula 1, it is all about technology, and whoever has the most money creates the most technology. To get McLaren up to the front with Mercedes, it will take more money and that money gets you more technology, which Zak understands."

For Rahal, whose IndyCar team has become a perennial championship contender, rooting for his friend from afar as he tries to bring McLaren back to a title-contending position will be a joy when 2017 arrives.

"Formula 1 is a different situation today, and it has to be more responsive to the marketplace perhaps than it once was, so I think Zak, having been on the other side, having been on the side of generating funding for teams, he will bring something to McLaren that you don't often see at that level," he said.

"As I say, I think it is a pretty good time for him to take on this role; he has a lot of respect of a lot of people over there. Now, whether that is going to create an American Formula 1 driver or what have you, who knows? But having American at such a high level and with such a fabulous team doesn't hurt. I'll be pulling for him, I know that, and so will many others."

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